78S10056 KEL-D
By: Lucio S.B. No. 32
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the TexasNextStep grant program to pay
tuition and required fees and textbook costs of certain students
enrolled in two-year public institutions of higher education in
this state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 56, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter R to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER R. TEXASNEXTSTEP GRANT PROGRAM
Sec. 56.481. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Eligible institution" means:
(A) a public junior college;
(B) a public technical institute; or
(C) a public state college.
(3) "Institution of higher education," "public junior
college," "public technical institute," and "public state college"
have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003.
(4) "Textbook costs" means the costs of textbooks and
similar educational materials required for course work at an
eligible institution.
Sec. 56.482. PROGRAM NAME; PURPOSE. (a) The student
financial assistance program authorized by this subchapter is known
as the TexasNextStep grant program, and an individual grant awarded
under this subchapter is known as a TexasNextStep grant.
(b) The purpose of this subchapter is to provide a grant of
money to enable eligible students to attend two-year public
institutions of higher education in this state.
Sec. 56.483. ADMINISTRATION OF PROGRAM. (a) The
coordinating board shall administer the TexasNextStep grant
program and shall adopt any rules necessary to implement the
TexasNextStep grant program or this subchapter. The coordinating
board shall consult with the student financial aid officers of
eligible institutions in developing the rules.
(b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a
TexasNextStep grant to an eligible student enrolled in an eligible
institution in a manner consistent with the administration of
federal student financial aid programs.
(c) The total amount of grants awarded under the
TexasNextStep grant program may not exceed the amount available for
the program from appropriations, gifts, grants, or other funds.
Sec. 56.484. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANT. (a) To be
eligible initially for a grant under the TexasNextStep grant
program, a person must:
(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
coordinating board rules;
(2) not later than the 16th month after the month in
which the person graduated from high school, enroll or have
enrolled as an entering student for at least one-half of a full
course load for an entering student, as determined by the
coordinating board, in an associate degree or certificate program
at an eligible institution;
(3) have graduated from:
(A) a public high school in this state; or
(B) an accredited private high school or a home
school or other nontraditional educational program in this state;
(4) have applied for any available financial aid or
assistance;
(5) meet eligibility requirements necessary to
receive federal student financial aid, other than requirements
regarding financial need; and
(6) comply with any additional nonacademic
requirement adopted by the coordinating board under this
subchapter.
(b) A person is not eligible to receive a TexasNextStep
grant if the person:
(1) has been granted an associate or baccalaureate
degree; or
(2) is concurrently enrolled in an institution of
higher education other than an eligible institution, unless the
person is enrolled in the person's final semester or term at the
eligible institution before completing the person's associate
degree or certificate program and the person enrolls in one or more
courses that, if successfully completed, would allow the person to
complete the degree or certificate requirements.
(c) A person may not receive a TexasNextStep grant for more
than 90 semester credit hours or the equivalent, including any
developmental course work required by an eligible institution.
(d) Subject to Section 56.487(b)(2), a person may receive a
TexasNextStep grant regardless of whether the person is eligible
for a TEXAS grant or a TEXAS grant II.
(e) A person may not receive a TexasNextStep grant for a
semester or term that begins on or after the third anniversary of
the initial award of a TexasNextStep grant to the person.
Sec. 56.485. CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY AND ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. (a) After initially qualifying for a
TexasNextStep grant, a person may continue to receive a
TexasNextStep grant during each semester or term in which the
person is enrolled at an eligible institution only if the person:
(1) is enrolled in an associate degree or certificate
program at an eligible institution;
(2) except as provided by Subsection (b), is enrolled
for at least one-half of a full course load for a student in an
associate degree or certificate program, as determined by the
coordinating board;
(3) makes satisfactory academic progress toward an
associate degree or certificate;
(4) meets eligibility requirements necessary to
receive federal student financial aid, other than requirements
regarding financial need; and
(5) complies with any additional nonacademic
requirement adopted by the coordinating board.
(b) A person is exempt from the one-half course load
requirement of Subsection (a)(2) if the TexasNextStep grant is
awarded for the person's final semester or term before the person
completes the person's degree or certificate program and the person
enrolls in one or more courses that, if successfully completed,
would allow the person to complete the degree or certificate
requirements. A person who qualifies for an exemption under this
subsection is not eligible for a TexasNextStep grant in a
subsequent semester or term, regardless of whether the person
graduates as planned.
(c) If a person fails to meet any of the requirements of
Subsection (a) after the completion of any semester or term, the
person may not receive a TexasNextStep grant during the next
semester or term in which the person enrolls. A person may become
eligible to receive a TexasNextStep grant in a subsequent semester
or term if the person:
(1) completes a semester or term during which the
person is not eligible for the grant; and
(2) meets all the requirements of Subsection (a).
(d) For purposes of this section, a person makes
satisfactory academic progress toward an associate degree or
certificate only if the person meets the standards for academic
progress as determined by the eligible institution.
(e) A person's eligibility to receive a TexasNextStep grant
is not affected by the person's enrollment in or transfer to another
eligible institution.
Sec. 56.486. GRANT USE. A person receiving a TexasNextStep
grant may use the money to pay any usual and customary cost of
attendance at an eligible institution incurred by the person. The
institution may disburse all or part of the proceeds of a
TexasNextStep grant to an eligible person only if the tuition and
required fees and textbook costs incurred by the person at the
institution have been paid.
Sec. 56.487. GRANT AMOUNT. (a) The amount of a
TexasNextStep grant for a student enrolled full-time at an eligible
institution is the amount determined by the coordinating board as
the average amount of tuition and required fees and textbook costs
that a resident student enrolled full-time in an associate degree
or certificate program would be charged for that semester or term at
the institution, except that if the eligible institution is a
public junior college, the average amount of those charges shall be
computed without including the portion of tuition and required fees
charged only to a student who resides outside the junior college
district.
(b) The coordinating board shall adopt rules that:
(1) allow the coordinating board to increase or
decrease, in proportion to the number of semester credit hours in
which a student is enrolled, the amount of a TexasNextStep grant
award under this section to a student who is enrolled in a number of
semester credit hours in excess of or below the number of semester
credit hours described in Section 56.484(a)(2) or 56.485(a)(2); and
(2) require the coordinating board to reduce the
amount of a TexasNextStep grant by the amount of any state or
federal gift aid for which the person receiving the grant is
eligible if that aid could be applied, according to the terms of the
aid, toward the person's tuition and required fees and textbook
costs at the eligible institution.
(c) Not later than January 31 of each year, the coordinating
board shall publish the amounts of each grant established by the
board with respect to an eligible institution for the academic year
beginning the next fall semester.
(d) An eligible institution may not:
(1) charge a person attending the institution who also
receives a TexasNextStep grant an amount of tuition and required
fees in excess of the amount of the TexasNextStep grant received by
the person for tuition and required fees, except that if the
eligible institution is a public junior college, the institution
may charge an additional amount to the person based on the person's
residence outside the junior college district; or
(2) deny admission to or enrollment in the institution
based on a person's eligibility to receive a TexasNextStep grant or
a person's receipt of a TexasNextStep grant.
Sec. 56.488. BIENNIAL REPORT. The coordinating board shall
track the academic performance and subsequent educational
attainment of grant recipients, by institution, and report this
information biennially to the legislature and the comptroller.
SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act in adding
Subchapter R, Chapter 56, Education Code, applies beginning with
the 2004-2005 academic year, except that the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board may not award a TexasNextStep grant under that
subchapter to an entering student who enrolls in an eligible
institution before the 2005-2006 academic year.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
adopt rules for the administration of Subchapter R, Chapter 56,
Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after
this Act takes effect. For that purpose, the coordinating board may
adopt the initial rules in the manner provided by law for emergency
rules.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the
legislative session.